“And David spoke the words of this song to the Lord in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul” (2 Samuel 22:1). David was in a tight spot. There’s a good chance he was in a tighter spot than any of us is this week. King Saul was out to kill him. I have had people mad at me before. I think some are mad at me now. However, I don’t remember anyone ever being out to kill me, or, at least, I don’t ever remember knowing about it if they were. Can you imagine what that must have been like?
Well, as we all know, God delivered David from the hand of Saul. In fact, that’s what 2 Samuel 22 is all about…David’s celebration of his deliverance in song. What I want to encourage you with this morning is the attitude David had. Read verses 33-40: 33 “God is my strong fortress; and He sets the blameless in His way. 34 He makes my feet like hinds' feet, and sets me on my high places. 35 He trains my hands for battle, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your help makes me great. 37 You enlarge my steps under me, and my feet have not slipped. 38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and I did not turn back until they were consumed. 39 And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; and they fell under my feet. 40 For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.”
Wow!! Here’s the neat part…He can be your Strong Fortress, too! In verse 31, David said, “He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.” That means that if you take refuge in Him, He’s your Shield. Of course, you need to know what it means to take refuge in the Lord. It’s more than just crying out to Him. It’s crying out to Him in faith, which means in faithful obedience. If you cry out to God, but refuse to obey His commands concerning salvation, you haven’t really taken refuge in Him. However, if you study His word (the Bible) and obey all those commands concerning your salvation (and He has given us every command we need concerning salvation, 2 Peter 1:3), He is your strong fortress, He will make your feet like hinds’ feet and He will gird you with strength for battle. What a comfort that is to know!
Consider for just a moment the enemies we’re able to destroy with the help of the Lord. David was talking about enemies in the flesh who were trying to destroy Israel as a nation. When we apply this passage to ourselves and the care our God provides us, we apply it somewhat differently. There may be the same enemies in the flesh, but Christians don’t fight the Good Fight in a physical way with weapons according to the flesh. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). Paul actually says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Therefore our weapons are not guns, knives and clubs, but weapons that are effective against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. The key here is the word “spiritual.” Our weapons are spiritual because our enemies are spiritual.
Now, you might say, “Wait a minute! My enemies are in the flesh. I’ve got a classmate, or a teacher that’s making my life at school miserable.” Or “My boss hates me and is trying to get me fired.” Maybe a neighbor seems to have you directly in his crosshairs. How is that enemy not of the flesh? Even in those cases, your real enemy is not in the flesh; is not the person you’ve identified. That person who is persecuting you in some way is merely a henchman of your real enemy…Satan. He is the one we are really fighting. The person you see every day is his captive and the best thing you can do for him or her is to help him or her be free of Satan’s clutches. And you know what the key is that sets them free, don’t you? It’s the truth of God’s word (John 8:31, 32).
So, our weapons are spiritual because our enemy is spiritual. What are some spiritual weapons we have? One very under-used weapon of the spirit is prayer. Another one that gets far less attention than it deserves is the sword of the Spirit, the Bible itself. If you are in constant communication through prayer and Bible study with the King Who is reigning over His kingdom right this minute, you are going to be very hard to defeat in battle. The encouragement we give one another is another weapon that allows us to destroy the very fortresses of the devil (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). I hope that this note is a weapon that in some way helps you get through a difficult time this week. God has given you all the weapons you need to win this fight because He loves you and so do I.
Donnie Bates